Howalon Flavored Lip Balm
by Forbidden
Summary: After the festival, Sumire gets upset that Mikan got so close to kissing Ruka. Permy tries to steal his first kiss, but someone's already took it from him. Ruka's POV. Ruka & Hotaru. Sequel to Damn That Imai!


**A/N: This is based on the anime. This is the sequel to _Damn that Imai! _You have to read that first in order to understand this fic.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a thing.**

**Howalon-Flavored Lip Balm**

The day after the school festival ends…

_What a racket._

"Did you really kiss Ruka-kun!?" demands Sumire. "If you touched his lips, I'll—"

"No way!" Sakura responds, waving her hands in front of her to indicate that nothing happened.

I sigh. It's lunch time and Sumire has to bring up that embarrassing moment. Thank goodness that apple came flying out of nowhere. The festival ended the day before, and everything is going back to normal. Sumire and her fan club are always overly obsessive, Natsume is always reading a manga, and Sakura is always getting into trouble.

_Life is SO fun, isn't it?_

"We couldn't see what was happening because that apple appeared. You better not have done anything to him!" exclaims the president of Natsume's and my fan club.

_Annoying Perm-girl…_

"I swear, Ruka-pyon and I didn't do anything! Right, Ruka-pyon?" says Sakura as she turns to face me.

"Right," I mutter, petting the rabbit in my lap.

"But if it hadn't hit you in the head, would you have kissed him?" Permy asks Sakura. Without waiting for a response, she slams her fist on the table, exclaiming, "I'll never let you be his first kiss! Someone as unworthy as you shouldn't associate with Ruka-kun!" _What am I, her property? A kiss is a kiss. Who cares whether or not it's the first, second, or third? _

Usagi jumps out of my arms because of the noise Sumire caused and ran out of sight.

_Stupid Cat-Dog girl…_

"Hey, wait!" I call and run to where I last saw him.

"Missing something?" I hear behind me. I turn around to see Imai petting Usagi on the head. She hands him to me and walks to her seat. I can vaguely hear Sumire continue to interrogate Sakura as I watch the mysterious girl sit in her chair. I barely notice that I am staring at her until a flash of light reaches my eyes. She took another picture of me!

"Imai! Give me that camera!" I say, lunging for it. Unfortunately, my foot gets hooked onto the leg of a table, causing me to trip.

_Just my luck._

"Ow…" I say, rubbing my knee.

"Ruka-kun! Are you all right?" Permy asks, kneeling next to me.

_Go away!_

Before I can answer, she starts blushing and asks, "Ruka-kun, last night at the play…"

_Gah, I don't want to hear about that now!_

"I became really worried that you and that idiot really did kiss…"

_Better her than you, Cat-girl._

"But now that I know you didn't, if you wouldn't mind, then, I'd like to be your first kiss."

_NO WAY!_

"Whaaat?!!!" I scramble to get up and back away from her, but that damn Imai trips me and takes a picture. Usagi hops away from me and towards Natsume, who hasn't bothered to even try to save his best friend.

_That traitor!!!_

Before I can get up again, Sumire grabs my shoulders and starts moving in for the kill. Her breath smells like mouthwash. Her followers watch on with admiration and awe as she draws closer to my face.

_Morons…_

"Hey, that's not right, Permy!" Sakura says, "You have to at least get his permission first."

_Don't just say that, SAVE ME!_

Sumire pulls back a little to respond to her, but her grip is too strong for me to escape from.

_Crap, aren't guys supposed to be stronger than girls!???_

"If I don't take his first kiss now, then some idiot like you is going to get it!" She retorts. My gaze wanders to Imai, my last hope, but…

**CLICK!**

**CLICK!**

**CLICK!**

_DAMN HER, SHE'S TAKING PICTURES!_

I sigh, knowing that Imai would probably sell the pictures to Permy later. Sumire turns back to me and puckers her lips. I squirm and struggle against her, but girls are stronger than they look. I wish I were smelling howalon instead of overly-minty mouthwash. My heart feels heavy and I can hear it pound against my chest, and the sound of clicking from pictures being taken echoes in my ears.

Then the clicking stops and I hear Sumire grunt.

_Huh????_

Even though her eyes are still closed, she isn't coming any closer to my face. She opens her eyes and turns around, loosening her grip on my shoulders. Wanting to get away from Sumire as quickly as possible, I scoot backwards until my butt hits the wall.

_FREEEEEEEEEEEEDOOOM!!!_

"Imai! What are you doing?" she asks angrily.

I look up to see Imai holding her back by pulling on her hair. Without a word, Imai lets her go and walks out of the classroom.

_I knew I could count on her!_

"What's her problem?" A member of the fan club mutters.

"You still have your chance, President!" Another encourages.

Sumire nods and turns back towards me.

"Ruka-kun, please, let me be your first kiss!"

_Imai, come back! I'm still in the Danger Zone!_

This time, she runs right up to me and throws her arms around me, but I shove her away with all my strength, making her fall to the floor. I don't think an overly-minty kiss will be THAT pleasant.

"I've already had my first kiss, so stop trying!" I blurt out, which is a stupid thing to say, but it seems like a good idea when you're desperate. I immediately cover my mouth and my cheeks heat up.

"Really?" The whole class surrounds me and starts interrogating me. "Who was it? Tell us!"

_I am so stupid._

"No-No way!" I wish I didn't say it after all. "It's—It's a secret…"

"So that's what happened in the woods that day…" Natsume mutters, turning a page in his manga.

"Do you know who it is?" Sakura asks him, clueless as ever.

_Thank goodness Sakura's so slow…_

My classmates then flock to my best friend to satisfy their curiosity, so I take this opportunity to run away.

_Oh, he decides to act NOW when all the action is OVER!_

I run as far as I can without looking back, when I see Imai playing with her camera under a large Sakura tree. I blush as I remember that fateful day in the woods that Natsume spoke of. I walk up to her. Before I can open my mouth to speak, she says, "You owe me another one."

_Eh?_

"Owe you what?" I ask, not understanding how I could possibly be indebted to her. "Don't tell me I owe you money!" I exclaim, remembering her notorious reputation for being stingy.

_What a Scrooge…_

"Though that would be nice, that's not what I want." She replies, and then explains, "The first, time, it was because you broke my camera. But I recently found out that the film inside it cannot produce the photos I took, so you owe me another one."

_Whaaaat? For a smart girl, she makes no sense at all._

Before I can object or ask for a more specific explanation, she grabs my ears and pulls me forward.

_My ears hurt…_

Once again, she forces me into a kiss for some strange and unknown reason, but all I know during that moment is that she tastes like sweet and creamy howalon. Before I have time to react, Imai lets me go and…takes a picture.

_THAT BLACKMAILER!_

"Now we're even," she says and turns to leave with that small smile on her face.

Still in a dazed state, I don't notice her walking away until she calls my name.

"Ruka-kun, we'll be late for class."

I shake my head to clear my mind and run after her. "Imai! The next time you kiss me, at least warn me first!"

_The next time? When will that be?_

I stop in my tracks after realizing what I've just said, and put my fingers to my lips. I smile, savoring the lingering taste of howalon-flavored lip balm.

A/N: I hope you guys liked it. I was thinking of writing it another way, but that might have required many chapters. I might incorporate my new idea in a third part of this series. Who knows?


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